


Realmstuck: Birthright

by ajkal2



Category: Homestuck
Genre: ...yet, AU, All this stuff will get updated as I post more, Changelings, Doppelganger, Gen, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, be careful guys, fantasystuck, kinda angel like people?, no ships, read it its good i swear, sorry im english i may get words wrong please tell me if I do
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-29
Updated: 2015-05-03
Packaged: 2018-02-23 03:43:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2532884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ajkal2/pseuds/ajkal2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A boy with orange eyes who hides himself away in fear.</p><p>A boy with red eyes that does the same.</p><p>A girl with purple eyes that always seems to have an ace up her sleeve.</p><p>A man with eyes no-one know the color of who wants to protect his brothers.</p><p>A woman with pink eyes who drinks away her losses.</p><p>A girl with green eyes who is the only sensible character, really.</p><p>A boy with blue eyes who is hidden from the world, though the world is not hidden from him.</p><p>A boy with grey eyes who hides through anger.</p><p>A boy with orange eyes who was taken, and hidden, and kept.</p><p>This is their story, and the story of how what is hidden can be revealed.</p><p>-----<br/>I suck a summarys. Seriously. </p><p>This is going to be a long one, so stick around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Orange

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Something Borrowed and Something Blue](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1292761) by [kira892](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kira892/pseuds/kira892). 



Your name is ~~not~~ Dave Lalonde, and you think that beating you up gives the other kids in your school some kind of psychological release.

 

A punch lands squarely on your nose and you _think_ you hear the crack of it breaking. Again.

 

The girl who you call your sister would do a better job at psychoanalysing their love of punching you in the face, but she goes to some posh private school. You only go to school because the government people would knock on Moms door and complain if you didn't and that would inconvenience her and you are enough of a burden for her as it is.

 

You are curled up on the floor now, and kicks rain down onto you, along with shouted insults and abuse. Nothing you haven't heard before.

 

Honestly, they should come up with better insults than 'fuckin freak'.  Just because you have bright orange eyes and hair the same color. Honestly.

 

After a while, they get bored and leave you alone. You open one eye just a bit to make sure their gone before slowly uncurling from your ball. It hurts to straighten out your back, and you grimace, reaching back to rub at the worst of the bruises. A few drops of blood run from your nose. Its OK. You've had worse.

 

You gather up your books, and hurry outside, wiping the blood off your face with the sleeve of your t-shirt and starting the long trudge home.

 

As you walk the sun slowly drags itself towards the horizon. You keep your head down, and by the time you reach the gate of the Lalonde Mansion an hour and 12 minutes has slipped away. You never wear a watch, but you know it took you longer today than usual. You can feel a black eye forming, but you enter the code (0412, Roses birthday) and walk up to the front door.

 

Mom has probably drank her own weight in wine by now.

 

The door slides open with a creeeeaaaaakkk that makes you think it _wants_ to betray your presence, and you slip inside, letting it swing shut behind you. You ghost across the foyer, and you are about to reach the stairs safely and-

 

The CRACK of a wine glass shattering against the wall behind you has you turning towards the kitchen. Mom sways on her feet there, her pink eyes set in the disgusted expression she saves just for you.

 

"Hello Mom."

 

"Don-Don't call me that you little _thief_."

 

She waves her fist at you in a gesture that is meant to come across as threatening, but instead screams pathetic and drunk. To you. Other people might find it threatening. 

 

"Where us- _is,_ Where is my baby, huh? Where did you put him? Where's my Davey, fake?"

 

"I don't know. I was a baby too when he disappeared, you know."

 

You head towards the stairs again, and make it up this time.

 

Your name is not Dave. You don't know what your name is. You were just left in the real Dave's cot with shitty orange eyes and useless fucking wings and you have no idea who you are except that you are not Dave Lalonde. He was taken a long time ago.

 

You just took his place.

 

Dave's Your room is the third door on the right. You walk through it and dump your bags on the floor, slamming the door to try and block out the sounds of Mom smashing more wine bottles. She'll calm down when the kid who isn't a freak gets home, but Rose isn't due for another 57 minutes, so you'll have to deal.

 

You slide a book off the shelf you moved in here from the library, and sit cross legged on the floor to immerse yourself in it.

 

Macbeth. Perfect.

 

You flip the first page, and start to read.

 

 


	2. Red

You name is Dave Strider, and you are the coolest kid on the block.

 

Or at least you would be. If you could go outside. But hey, you don't need to go outside to be cooler than a cat chilling his whiskers on a block of ice. You just are.

 

And who cares about going outside when all the fun is in here?

 

Speaking of fun...

 

A punch lands squarely on your nose and you think you hear the crack of it breaking. Again.

 

Goddammit, you need to stop zoning out while in the middle of a strife.

 

You get your sword up, try to block your Bros next swing, but he's disappeared.

 

You keep your sword up, and listen, scanning the wooden walls of the repurposed workshop. Swords line the walls, and the floor is just at a slight incline to keep you off your-

 

_ohshittheressomethingcrushingyou._

 

"Look up, not around."

 

Your Bro has a knee on your chest. His sword is resting on your neck. His white-bleached wings are still spread slightly behind him, and you groan at your defeat as they fold to rest against his back.

 

"I've told you this before bro. Just because you can't fly-"

 

"Doesn't mean the other guy can't. I know, you've repeated that mantra so many times its ingrained into my brain cells, the doctors are gonna open it up and all they'll find is that same sentence repeated over and over through my brain."

 

He smirks, the asshole, and then lets you up. You pick up your shades from where they had flown, and adjust them so your eyes are covered. A sweaty arm thunks itself across your shoulders and then ruffles your hair, and you complain halfheartedly as always, but let him drag you towards the door and a shower.

 

Your Bro is a mystery to you. You don't know what color his wings and hair would be if he didn't bleach them, you've never seen his eyes, and he is the master of the pokerface. The only thing you really know is that hes awesome, and in the process of teaching you to be more awesome.

 

And that he's looking for his actual younger brother whenever he can. You can’t really help him that much, but you try.

 

It was pretty obvious to you that you're not biologically related. You mean, he's got wings and your back is unadorned by feathers, so. Even though he's been raising you like a brother (i.e. beating the shit out of you and ruining your hair) ever since you can remember, you’re not related.

 

You walk into the main room of the apartment where you’ve spent the majorty of your life. ~~Sometimes you wonder what it was like before, if you have parents and an actual family waiting for you if you could _go out_ and _find_ them. Maybe thats part of the reson you’re helping your Bro find his real bro, to see who he ended up with.~~

 

Its decorated with half assembled homunculi,  and various edged weapons. You kick a hollow wooden head to one side, and pick your way through the rest to the bathroom.

 

Bro beat you there.

 

Dammit, his ‘showers’ are more like infinite periods of sweaty torture for you designed to fuck with your mind.

 

Your head thunks against the bathroom door. Several times. A groan or two is uttered. He laughs at your torment, the fucker, and you glare through the door before slouching of to your room.

 

 


	3. Orange

“Macbeth? Again?”

 

You can hear the slight smirk and raised eyebrow that accompany that statement.

 

“Shut up. It’s a classic.“

 

“That you’ve read on, oh about 10 to 15 seperate occasions.”

 

“And your point is…”

 

“Oh, there is no point at all. Nothing I say ever has any deeper meaning, or an ulterior motive, brother dear.”

 

You roll your eyes, shut your book (That is totally awesome, shut up) and turn to face her.

 

Rose is Dave’s little sister, so shes a year younger then you. And obsessed with passive aggressive battles with your drunken Mom, and irritating you.

 

You love her really.

 

She’s leaning against ~~Daves~~ your door, aforementioned smirk in place.

 

“Of _course_ nothing you say has deeper meaning or in _any_ way holds subtle allegations that my mental stability is lacking, sister dear _est_. You know as well as _I t_ hat such accusations would render me _speechless_ with hurt and confusion.” Your hand goes to your heart, your eyes wide and ever-so innocent.

 

OK, maybe you’re a little sarcastic as well.

 

She’s full out grinning now, and you consider that a victory and smile back.

 

The distant sound of shattering glass echos through the house, and you both flinch.

 

“...How is she?”

 

Rose sighs, and walks elegantly into the room, closing the door behind her and sitting beside you on your bed.

 

“Drunk.”

 

“When is she not?”

 

You both know the question is rhetorical, but the answer hangs in the air, polluting it and poisoning the mood you had set up with your banter. A few minutes (3 and 14 seconds) pass in silence.

 

“...I’m sorry.”

 

it’s only a whisper, but Rose always responds in the same way.

 

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”

 

Your silence speaks for itself, and she lifts her head from your shoulder where it had come to rest.  

 

“Let me see your back. “

 

“Rose-”

 

“Dave, let me see.”

 

Her tone brokers no arguments.

 

“I’m not Dave” you mutter out of pure habit, but shift on your bed so that your back is to her and pull off your shirt.

 

Her hand lightly traces the bandages wrapped tightly around the entirety of your torso.

 

“Off.”

 

“Kinky.”

 

“Dave.”

 

You pick at the wrappings uncomfortably, eventually finding the loose one and unwinding the lot, taking your first deep breath of the day.

 

Her hand touches your back again, but much softer, just brushing against the mangy orange feathers of the one wing left on your back.

 

~~You had wanted to get rid of both of them, but passed out from blood loss and pain.~~

 

You shift uncomfortably, but spread your wing out a bit so that she can see it’s definitely still there and you haven’t even plucked any of the feathers off.

 

T ~~he scar on the left side twinges a bit, like you want to spread that one too, but oh look, it’s not _there._~~

 

“Good. Don’t wrap it up again today.”

 

“But-”

 

“It’s bad for you. Stops them- it from developing fully.“

 

“Fine.”

 

Your voice is curt. You slalk over to the cupboard in the corner of the room, and dig until you find a shirt with holes in the back, then shrug it on, still not facing her. Your wing goes through one of the holes in the back. The other stays empty.

 

You let out a sigh, and forgive her, returning to sit next to her. Your wing is on her side, so you spread it out and curl it around her. Her head rests back on your shoulder, and her fingers comb through your feathers.

 

“It’s a marvel, you know.”

 

Her voice is soft.

 

“No it’s not. I’m a freak, and you should be running and screaming and getting out while you can.”

 

“Because you’re sooo terrifying.“ The smirk is back in her voice.

 

“Hey, I resent those implications. I can be scary. If I want to. I just don’t want to.”

 

She laughs softly at that, and you laugh too, and then the air seems lighter and everything outside this room is forgotten.

 

 


	4. Red

You found something interesting.

  


Bro often brings new things into the apartment to stop you from getting too bored, but this is different.

  


It looks like a pair of wings. Except not attached to anything, just hanging on the outside of your door.

  


Your eyes narrow, and you examine them with your eyes, trying to catch the glint of light a tripwire gives off. Bro usually sets them all over things for you.

  


There’s just the usual wire attached to the bottom of your door for you to trip over.

  


Your eyes narrow even more.

  


You reach out, and gently lift the things that look like slightly furled wings off your door.

  


Nothing happens.

  


OK, you are getting a headache from constant narrowing of your eyes.

  


They’re red in colour, and feeling them you know the feathers aren’t real sprite feathers, just clever fakes.

  


Really good fakes though, wow. They’re really soft, and you run your fingers through them. There’s something on the inside edge of them, what looks like a harness. Too small for Bros shoulders.

  


They’re cool.

  


Red is one of the more common colours of wings as far as you see from your window, so they would go unnoticed in a crowd. You twirl them around to lie against your back. It looks just like you have wings, proper wings.

  


A grin starts to creep onto your face before you halt it in it’s tracks.

  


Is Bro going to let you out?

  


With these, you wouldn’t be given a second glance if you walked around the paths near your home. You could actually get out of the prison place.

  


You walk through into the main room, carrying the wings slung casually over your shoulder, and neatly stepping over the wire that topples a pile of puppets onto the head of any who trips over all the shit lying around. which could happen to anyone, shut up Bro.

  


Bro appears on the bench by the window. You sit next to him, smooth as you like.

  


“What do you say to a little trip?”

  


You shrug, like you couldn’t care less, but you’re sure he can hear the way your heart is going a mile a minute.

  


He stands up, his wings folded and clearly visible against the back of his shirt.

  


You stand as well, and fiddle with the straps on the inside of your fake wings (!!!), securing them around your chest once you work out where they go.

  


They are awesome, and look so real you can’t help but let a (small) smile through your pokerface.

  


He hands you a coat, and you shrug it on, making sure the straps are hidden but the wings go through the holes in the back. It’s big on you. Must be Bro’s, you’ve never needed a coat.

  


You look it over, craning your neck to make sure everything is ready.

  


It’s awesome.

  


Looks realistic enough to fool anyone who doesn’t look too closely.

  


You nod to Bro, and he cranes his neck to take a look of his own before nodding back and opening the door to the hallway, walking out with you at his heels like a puppy. It’s just a hallway, but it’s a change in scenery, and you try to stop vibrating in excitement, trailing after your Bro as he strides (pun intended) along it towards the stairs.  

  


They’re weird, stairs, and you almost fall down them when first trying to navigate their jagged expanse. You get it on the 3rd try, getting used to your feet thumping against the flat bits with more weight than on a flat surface.

  


You continue down the deathtraps after Bro. He’s hovering in the middle of the stairwell and raises an eyebrow at you, a smirk barely gracing his lip. You smirk back at him and walk towards him, -being careful not to go too close to the bare edge, its high and your wings don’t actually like. work- to look over the railing.

  


Thats a lot of stairs.

  


You’re not going to have to walk down all of them, aren't you?

  


Bro folds his bone-white wings (bleached, the pretentious idiot) and drops out of sight.

  


You have to walk down all of them.

  


Goddammit.

  


45 minutes and 32 seconds later, you reach the end of the stairs.

  


Theres a lobby at the end of the stairs.

  


There are people in the lobby.

  


Just a few trolls, but they’re people and they move and are talking to each other about something and they’re people.

  


Your hands are shaking slightly, and you jam them in the pockets of this rad new coat and walk briskly towards what you guess are the main doors to the building. They’re like Bro’s mechanical things. Yeah, just some robot’s he left on, ignore them.

  


Theres an air current through the doors, and it raises goosebumps on your arms, and you reach out for the doorknob and your fingers just brush it and you get a better grip, push and-

  
  


And Bro has you over his shoulder and is flying up the stairwell again, and you only get a glimpse of light and what looks like an outside.

  


The FUCKER.

  


You twist in his grip, but his arms are like steel rods around your chest and you can’t believe he’s done this, got you all worked up and then dragged you back to the apartment and you thought this wasn’t a thing he played his games about and you thought. You thought-

  


“Sorry.”

  


Its muttered, almost incomprehensible, but it makes you stop twisting in his grip.His wings buffet both of you with air as your height above the ground increases.

  


“Thought it would be best to take it slow. Don’t want you freakin’ on me or anything.”  


  


You could deal with it, you were dealing with it.

  


You decide to ignore him for the rest of the day.

  


Take it slow.

  


You’ll show him you can deal with it.

  


An idea begins to form in the back of your mind.


	5. Orange

You’re almost at the second appearance of the three Witches when the Weird Thing happens.

 

_**the FUCKER goddammit soclosesoclosesoclose.** _

 

It’s not that weird: It doesn’t feel weird, it feels natural, but you know it’s not a normal thing that happens, so it’s  been labeled the Weird Thing.

 

Out of nowhere a flash of anger and disappointment and yearning to go out.

You can go out. No-ones stopping you.

 

But it feels like something is holding you back.

 

You sigh.

 

Your bookmark (a tatty piece of paper torn from a school sheet) goes back in Macbeth, and you roll off your bed, pushing the window open and swinging your feet over the edge.

 

You used to be able to slide off and glide down into the forest.

 

There was this little clearing you liked, full of flowers and moss and so secluded that no-one would stumble across you. You haven’t been there since-

 

Since you stopped being able to fly flying.

 

Well, why don’t you go there now? It’s not like anyone would miss you. Mom’s too drunk to notice, she didn’t even notice you when you were screaming the house down. ~~Rose got a papercut last week, and before she could even say ow Mom had brought five different colour Band-Aids for it and was fussing over her like she had, oh you don't know, chopped off one of her limbs.~~

Fuck your homework.

 

You’re going to your clearing.

 

You almost slither off the ledge, your wings fluttering open, but catch yourself, and slide back inside and out of your room, thumping down the staircase and past the armchair where Mom is snoring, hugging her wine bottle to her bosom like it had replaced the child that was stolen from her. Maybe it had.

 

The back door is easy to open, just 413 (Mum seems oddly fond of that combination of numbers) and your outside, in the forest, and there’s fresh air and trees and your wing opens just slightly, just enough to feel the wind as you start jogging through the trees, and it feels right.

 

Much more right than school and homework, and people punching you for no reason, and Mom being… Mom, and Rose pretending to understand.

 

It feels like… like a breath of fresh air.

 

Your sprint has slowed into a more reasonable pace now, a steady lope through the woods  around Rainbow Falls that remind you of… something, who even cares, you’re free now.

 

You wish you could still fly, soar up above the treetops and be even more free, but you can’t anymore ~~stupidstupidstupid~~  so you settle for running.

 

Here you don’t have to be Dave Lalonde, and you don’t have to not be him, here you can just be you. A weirdo with a bright orange wing and a head full of loneliness.

 

After about an hour and 14 seconds, you slow to a walk, still heading for your clearing. You always felt drawn to it somehow, but thats another Weird Thing you don’t think about. It’ll take you… another hour? to get there. Huh. It used to be a ten minute journey.  Now it’ll be dark by the time you get back. Might as well not go back at all, spend the night out there. There’s a tree with branches you can pull down, and you put an old sleeping bag out there when you used to go regularly. Rose won’t worry if you put up your flag, she can see all the way out from the observatory.

 

Plus, you always sleep better under the stars.

 

 


	6. Red

You’re ready to go.

 

You’ve got everything you need: shades, coat, wings, few of the carved tokens you’ve seen being used as money, sword sheathed and tucked up under your coat, between your wings.

 

Now you just need…

 

Bro starts snoring from the other room. Perfect. Now you can go.

 

You’re careful, lifting the latch slowly and carefully, then sliding out the door and closing it behind you. The latch clicks back into place softly, and you wince at the sound, letting your breath slide softly in and out of your lungs instead of holding it like a noob. You are the best at this game. Bro’s still snoring, and you are outside your apartment. Alone.

 

Awesome?

 

Yeah, Awesome. Definatly. You’re not at all afraid, and anyone who says so is a big fat liar, fatter than the pudgy baker down the street, so fat it would take 15 minutes to run around them. Thats how fat they would be. From all the lies. Like the lie about you being afraid. Thats the biggest lie of all. 

 

~~Your hands are sweating.~~

 

The stairs are easier with practice, and the hallway is deserted. You walk across it, hands in your pockets, and towards the door, put your hand on it, push and you’re through it, you had the slightest suspicion that Bro was going to stop you but no, you’re through, you’re out, you’re the best and your outside.

 

It’s… big. And noisy.  Theres a street here you can’t see from your window, but it leads through buildings that are made to look like giant trees, and winds out of sight. You wander along it, heart in your mouth, trying to look at everything at once. Trolls bustle along the streets, the night their time to wake, and one bumps you and walks straight on. You stumble, and turn to walk backwards for a step and see the other trees in the city light up, the fire-fly jars sparkling into life and washing everything all the colours of the pennaspectrum, red and purple and blue and green and yellow, and then, twist back to  face the direction you are going street and walk confidantly, head down to form a buffer from between you and the other pedestrians. There’s what looks like a second street about 100 metres up, and it’s bustling, sprites twisting in the air to avoid collisions, air spirits floating on the breeze and dissolving into wind just before a darting wing clips them. You dimly realise you’re grinning. Ah well, fuck a pokerface, the city is alive at night, and you’re in the middle of it, striding along this street that seems to go on forever. You’re not entirely sure where you're going, but your feet keep on placing themselves in front of each other and it feels right.

 

You love being outside. You love being outside in the city.

 

After an almost innumerable period of time, your feet get a bit tired and you slow your pace, strolling along a street that’s quieter now, with less feet pounding on the cobblestones and the giant trees replaced with darkened parks and blocky hives. You keep going. The air traffic has quietened down, and theres only a pair of sprites flying above you, one with blue wings and one with purply-red. They drift with the wind, then blue tips into a long curving path across the rooftops and purple follows. You’re alone.

 

You’re alone.

 

The city isn’t scary at all. The dark parks, trees with twisting branches that rake against the sky, black alleys between the blocky hives, all perfectly not frightening at all, yeah, you’re totally not freaking out at all here, totally fine, perfectly _ohshittheressomethingbehindthattreeyou’regoingtoDIE_ _ohitsalrightit’sjustBro waitBroshityou’restillgoingtoDIEbutonlyslowerandmorepainfullyfuckfuckfuck_

 

“Out for a little trip?” He rudely interrupts your totally not even close to a freakout, come on, you are as cool as a cat chillin it’s whiskers on an iceberg wait whats an iceberg who cares.

 

“Uhhh..”

 

He sighs. “Couldn’t keep you penned up forever. C’mon.”

 

He turns his back and starts walking away, and you scurry after him fall into place at his side, feeling much safer now he’s here.

 

“You even have any idea where you were headed?”

 

“... Not particularly.”

 

“You’re lucky then, this is the place I was going to go before I started tailing you. Bad observation skills by the way.”

 

“Where are we even going?”

 

“Home of the old guy who manages all the portals round here. This area is famous for the things, the city’s not called Junction for nothing. His granddaughter does most of the work now, he’s retired, but they’re the best in the buisiness. They’ll be able to get us to Earth safely, unlike some.”

 

You stumble, but regain your balance and carry on like nothing happened.

 

“... Earth? Isn’t that the human realm?”

 

He glances at you, and the corner of his mouth raises a few milimeters.

 

“Yep. Home for you. Can’t stay too long, got shenanigans to get on with here as well. I’ve made a couple of trips, lookin’ for.. well, looking out.”

 

You blink, then get it. If you and his bro were swapped, and you’re from Earth and ended up in Junction, then he must have ended up on Earth. Makes sense.

 

Your family will be there. You don’t think about them much, but. They’ll be there.

 

“How much further is the portal guys place?”

 

“Not far.” He tips his chin towards a slender structure that rises above the hives, a few streets over.

 

It’s tall, and like nothing you’ve seen in all the books Bro gets for you. It looks kinda like stone, but it’s cold, and shiny. Liks your shades, but… a building.

 

“Cool.”

 

You enter, Bro pressing a button by the side of the door that makes a chime ring through the whole building.

 

“He usually takes some time to get down from his observatory, so we’ll have to-” He’s interupted by a flash of green in the middle of the room and the appearance of a girl with white furry ears and way too much hair.

 

“Hi! You must be Grandpa’s visitors. I’m Jade.”

 

She’s… bubbly.

 

“Hey. Looking for two-way transport to Earth and back.” Bro seems unfazed by her sudden appearance, so you school your features into a calm pokerface.

 

“Sure! just oonnnnnneee second, then I’ll be back and get you there! You know the drill, right?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Awesome!” She flashes away again.

 

“.....What-”

 

She’s back again, and your mouth snaps shut of it’s own accord. She gives Bro a silver whistle, and he gives her some coins.

 

She glances at them, then nods happily.

 

“Do you want to go now?” Her head tilts to the side as she asks a question. It’s kinda cute wait no dave don’t get a crush on the first girl your age you’ve met. Calm down tiger.

 

“Yes. When should I call you to get back?”

 

“Oh, any time! I love jumping around.” Her ears prick up. ”Ready to go?”

 

“Yep. Dave, hold on to my arm.”

 

You grab his bicep. You have no idea whats about to happen.

 

“Want to go any place in particular? Earth is the largest realm.”

 

“Nah.”

 

“Alright. Off you go!”

 

She clicks her fingers, and the world spins around you and you fall to your knees, in a forest of some sort, a clearing?

 

It’s not where you were a few seconds ago.

 

Bro flexes his arm, and you realise you are still clutching at it like its your last lifeline. You let go.

 

“OK. First lesson about Earth: They don’t know we exist, and we want to keep it that way. There are 7 billion of them. Just think of what they could do. I mean, the trolls are bad enough and there’s half that number of them. So wings off.”

 

Your head is still spinning from the teleportation. Then the world starts spinning as well, and tilting, and the ground is rushing up to meet your face. You didn’t know it did that on Earth. You’re on Earth. This is where you are from. It kinda stinks of dirt.

  


“... OK, I guess it’s the teleportation that has you swooning like a maiden.”

 

A long groan is your only response.

 

“Hup.” You are lifted up, and your nice coat taken off. You grumble a bit, but feel too woozy to complain. You feel hands unbuckling the harness that holds your wings, and then the rustling of leaves. Then Bro’s in front of you, wearing your coat and looking weird without his wings. the world isn’t spinnig so much anymore, so you attempt to look around.

 

It’s a clearing alright. You kinda strangely recognise it a bit. You think you’ve had a dream about it? Theres a reflection of you in the corner, must be a mirror, and a pile of objects, and Bro in front of you and-

 

Wait a second.

 

Thats not a mirror.

 

There’s a boy that looks almost exactly like you in the corner.

 

_ohshitohshitohshitthisisliketheworsthorrormovieplotevertheworldistwistingturningloopinganddarkeningandtilltingandyouthinkBrocatchesyoubutyournotsureand-_

You black out.

 

 


	7. Orange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tw sets of characters finally interact! (part 1)

...

 

What the fuck.

 

You feel kinda nauseous, but you keep staring at the guy in the centre of YOUR clearing.

 

He kinda just appeared out of nowhere with a flash of green light. He looks kinda familiar, in a weird way.

 

What. The. Fuck.

 

Along with a boy who looks kinda like you, but with huge sunglasses on and blonde hair.

 

With red wings. They both have wings.

 

What.

 

The.

 

Fuck.

 

Their talking now, and the big guy is stripping your clone. Oh, the wings are fake. Well, small guy’s wings are fake.

 

Big guy’s wings look real.

 

And he looks kinda like little guy. ~~Like you~~.

 

Your wing tucks in close to your torso,

 

Small guy hits the floor, and your nausea grows more pronounced, making you grit your teeth for a moment before something in your head cuts off, and you feel fine again.

 

What.

 

The.

 

You don’t even have time to finish the phrase before your pinned against a tree with a sword to your throat.

 

Oh.

 

Big guy noticed you then.

 

You swallow, veeeery aware of the sharp edge resting on your adams apple.

 

“Thats a big sword.” What a stupid thing to say, fuck, complimenting a maniac with a sword to your throat on the size of the sword ON YOUR THROAT arrggghhh you are going to die.

 

“Yep, it is.” He seems calm, impassive almost. “Are you going to say a word about seeing us?”

 

“Nope. Definitely not, no waaay, no way in a thousand years will I say anything about a couple of maniacs appearing in the woods, no, I assure you, your secret is safe with me, safe as houses, houses with big fat locks on the doors and steel walls and no windows, kinda like a jail but a house-”

 

The sword presses more against your throat.You feel a drop of blood run down your neck. You stop talking.

 

“You sound like my brother. Look like him too. Except-” He stops in the middle of a sentence, and leans in, so close you can see the faintest outline of eyes behind the black glass. He’s looking into your freaky eyes, and all you can think is helpi’mgonnadiemurderedbyamadmaninthewoodsfuuuucccckkkkk.

 

He lifts you up by your shirt, and plonks you in a patch of sunlight, looking at your eyes, your hair, and you blink at him in the sudden light, but don’t move for fear of activating his kill with sword defensive mechanisms.He strides behind you, sword still out and glinting in the sudden light, and you are suddenly aware of your wing, out and bare a fucking bright orange marker saying I’m a freak, kill me!

 

Wait he has wings too.

 

Wait, _he has wings too._

 

You feel a hand running through you feathers, and then over the stumpy mass of scar tissue on the other side, then you are suddenly being crushed.

 

By a… hug?

 

OK, why is the maniac probably-a-serial-killer hugging you?

 

This is probably the right time for a return of your previous thought pattern of What The Fuck.

 

“What.. what the fuck?”

 

Hey look, Blondy woke up and is thinking along the same lines as you.

 

You are released, and the sword guy is squatting beside Blondy, asking if he’s OK.

 

“I’m fine Bro, but who’s that guy? And why does he get hugs, I want hugs, I am a delicate swooning maiden ok?”

 

‘Bro’ turns, and grins like a shark.

 

“Found him, lil’ bro. And don’t worry, you’ll get hugs later. Hugs for everyone.”

  
“Him? Oh. OH. Wait, he’s…? Wow. That was quick.”

 

“Damn right that was quick. Need to take you out more often kiddo.”

 

“OK, what.” You hate to interject, but they are talking like they were looking for you. Why would anyone want to look for you. “Let me get this thing straight. Two random people appear from nowhere, and then, while Blondy here passes the fuck out, Katana Murderer almost kills me. Then suddenly me and Katana Murderer are hugbuddys. What is even going on here. And also, please don’t kill me.”

 

They both stare for a moment, then Blondy starts cracking up and Katana Murderer says “Not gunna kill you.”

 

“Oh my god, Katana Murderer, that is so you Bro, no wait, I’m calling you Katana Murderer forever now. “

 

“Shut up, Blondy.”

 

You facepalm.

 

“Let me try again. Who are you. Why were you looking for me. Why does Blondy look exactly like me. Answers please.”

 

“Dunno why you and Blondy here look so alike. As for the other two questions, work it out yourself lil’bro.”

 

“Lil’bro. Why are you even giving me a stupid fucking nickna-” Wait. Thats short for little brother, isn’t it? You blink. He has wings too. Looks like you. Appeared from an unknown place. Hugged you when he saw your wings.

 

Called you his brother.

 

...

 

No fucking way. You feel your jaw dropping.

 

“There you go.” Your (older brother??? almost murderer???) replies.

 

2x Facepalm combo!!!

 

“How come I have a older brother? Where did you even come from?”

 

“Junction.” Blondy pipes up, standing up slowly from his position on the floor.

 

“It’s a little city, just beyond the borders of the Sprite realm. Loads of portals though. I’ve been looking for you for a long time, bro.”

 

“Wait, Sprite? Realm? Portals?”

 

“I’ll explain everything later. First, lets go back, regroup, and-”

 

“Nope.”

 

A little frown line appears between his eyebrows. “But-”

 

“I’m not going anywhere with a stranger. You could be a serial killer, hell, you _literally_ just almost cut my throat.”

 

“What else do you propose we do?”

 

“Let Blondy meet his family.”

 

Blondy’s head shoots up at that, and he looks at your brother with a hopeful expression.

 

“... Fine. How far is it?

 

“Not too far. 2 hour 10 minute walk.”

 

Your older brother (you need to work out his name) does the shark grin again.

 

“We’re not walking.”

 

He reaches down and wraps an arm around Blondys waist, then lifts him over his shoulder (amid protests) and approaches you.

 

“No.”

 

You back up, hands raised, but he grabs you before you can run and then you are being lifted up and you feel his muscles bunching as he dumps the coat he stole from Blondy, leaving it and the red wings in the clearing as he jumps off, flapping his wings as he does, and lifts off.

 

You’re kinda clutching at him and screaming a bit as the three of you rise above the treetops, and your wing wants to unfold so that you can fly on your own, ~~but you can’t do that anymore can you.~~

 

**_oh my fucking god im actually gonna see them i wonder what theyll be like will they like me course they will im awesome but a bit of doubt underneath the bravado, a touch of nerves quickly suppressed asdfghjkl im gonna MEET them fuck_ **

****

_Oh my god shut up._ Urgh, sometimes you hate the Weird Thing.

 

**_im not gonna shut up you shut up im about to meet my family ok_ **

 

What?

 

**_what? wait did i just talk to a voice in my head am i going mad they wont love me if im going mad lock me up in an asylum wait whats an asylum how do i even know that word_ **

 

You automatically provide a definition. Asylum, noun, an institution for the care of people who are mentally ill.

 

**_cool_ **

 

Wait, why are you telling the voice in your head what an asylum is? Wait, how do you even have a voice in your head?

 

_**wait no youre the voice in my head** _

 

_No, you’re the voice in my head._

 

_**nuh uh, youre the voice. i can tell, it’s my head.** _

 

_I’m... not getting into an argument with a voice in my head. Now is not the time._

 

**_youre right im about to meet my family now is not the time_ **

 

**_ttyl weird voice_ **

 

_Miss you already._

And the Weird Thing stops happening.

 

Well that just got a lot more weird. You’re not even going to say what the fuck anymore, You’re too used to the universe pulling this colossal joke on you.

 

You hang from the arm of the guy who tried to kill you 5 minutes and 4 seconds ago, and facepalm. Again.


	8. Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exposition time, yay!

Bro thumps down in the back garden of what looks like a huge house. Your family must be loaded, wow.

  


You’re not going to think about the conversation you just had with your own head. Nope. Not gonna think about it.

  


Bro’s younger brother (wow you need to find out his name (or nickname him, hmm...)) slouches towards the back door, and you are constantly a pace behind him. He’s missing a wing, you notice. How did that happen? You saw a sprite missing a wing once. He was a yellow, the highest rank you knew of, and he walked down the street with his head held high, glaring at the trolls. The other sprites ignored him.

  


It’s strange, seeing him. He’s orange, like bright orange, and you haven’t ever seen an orange sprite before.

  


But who even cares. You’re about to meet your family. Like, your actual Family, capital F, and you wonder what they will be like, if you have another brother or a little sister and if your mom bakes cookies and your dad smokes pipes and you’ve never even thought about it before, and _asdfghjkl._

_**  
**_

_**Urgh, I get it, you’re excited, shut up.** _

  


Stupid voice. You try to quiet your thoughts, but their still babbling away in the back of your mind, and Pumpkin (heh perfect nickname) turns around as he reaches the door and absently rubs his head.

  


“You guys are going to have to be quiet. Blondys Mom is asleep, and, trust me, we don’t want her to wake up. We’ll just go upstairs and then Blondy and Rose can have sibling bondy time while Katana Murderer tells me some stuff.”

  


“Rose?”

  


“Your sister.”

  


“I have a sister?”

  


“Yep.”

  


“Awesome.”

  


You’re bouncing with excitement now, but tone it down as Pumpkin unlocks the door and creeps inside. Bro is like a ghost behind him, but as you steal through the large hall with a larger staircase you are too busy gaping at the giant wizard statue (what) to notice a bronzed vacuum cleaner on a pedestal (what), and bump right into it.

  


Bro and Pumpkin both turn at the noise, and all three of you stare as it wobbles one way, then the other, then slooooowwwwly topples through the air to land with a HUGE crash on the polished floor.

  


Pumpkin facepalms. He seems to do that a lot.

  


Bro just shakes his head at you, and you can hear him saying “Dave, you’re an idiot.”

  


Theres a zzznork sort of sound from an armchair facing away from the three of you, and you spot Pumpkin waving franticly for you to get up the stairs.

  


You almost make it.

  


“W….Wats happenin? Richrd?”

  


You turn to see a blonde woman with wine bottle in hand and bright pink eyes swaying out of the armchair, and turning (too far at first, then she rights herself) towards the place where you, Bro and Pumpkin stand, frozen.

  


“No, not Rich-Rose. Gotta remember, Rose now. You’re not Rose. Orange an white and a red one? Orange-Thief? IZZAT YOU THIEF?”

  


Her voice suddenly rises to a shout, as she glares at Pumpkin, still swaying on her feet but out from behind the chair now.

  


“Shit, she’s drunker than before.You guys go, first door on the left. Yeah, it’s me.”

  


Bro grabs you, and you’re both up the stairs before you can think and realise that that was your Mom.

  


Theres a smash, then Pumpkin closes the door behind him.

  


“Blondy, you’re an idiot.”

  


“Yeah, he is sometimes. You get used to it.” You’re in the middle of a surprisingly bare room, with a bed in the corner and an open window, witch Pumpkin walks over to, shutting it.

  


“Dave, what did you do now?” A female voice asks as the door opens again.

  


“Hey, it wasn’t _my_ fault.” You and Pumpkin blink at each other, having accidentally said exactly the same thing.

  


“Wait, you’re called Dave as well?”  You mean, it was bad enough looking like clones, but you and Pumpkin have the same name?

  


“No, I just-I don’t know.”

  


“What.” You both turn to the door, where a girl blinks at the scene, then at Pumpkin.

  


“Look who I found in the woods, Rose.”

  


“Why are you letting two strangers into our-” She blinks at Bro. “You have wings.” He raises an eyebrow, and spreads them for her.

  


“Yep.”

  


She turns to you, and you can feel her scrutinising you. You look at her. She’s your sister. You look similar. She’s a bit shorter than you, with hair in a practical bob, wearing a purple skirt and a top with a tentacle monster on it. Cool. You like her already.

  


“You have the same name as my brother.”

  


“Thats because he is. Your brother. Rose, Dave, Dave, Rose. Go do sibling bonding things.” Pumpkin gestures to the door, and promptly shoos the two of you out of it.

  


“Ummm. Hi?” Your throat is dry, and you are suddenly very conscious of the fact that you do not know how to talk to people, that you have lived in one apartment pretty much your whole life and only talked to Bro and-

  


“Hello. I’m Rose.” A manicured hand is extended for you to take. You take it, and it shakes your hand briskly before dropping it. “I apologise for my older brother, he can be quite rude.”

  


“No problem. Bro did kinda, um, pin him to a tree with a katana at his throat, so. You know. He has a right to be. Angsty?”

  


An eyebrow raises, and you are struck by her similarity to Bro and feel a bit more comfortable.

  


“Are we just gonna... hang out in the hallway?”

  


“No.” She turns to the door you were just shown out of, and walks back in.

  


You follow her, rather confused.

  


“Rose.” Pumpkin is using a tone of voice you recognise as your ‘warning’ voice. Except it’s coming from him.

  


“Dave.”

  


“Huh?” What does she want with you?

  


“Not you. Other Dave. I was not aware that this gentleman had, what was the wording? Pinned you to a tree with a katana at your throat.”

  


Pumpkin winces. “Uhh, yeah, that… was a thing. That happened. Yep. It’s alright though.”

  


You can feel the glare Rose is giving Bro. “Let me see.”

  


He tilts his head back, and she sits on the bed beside him and examines his neck, taking hold of his chin. Theres a tiny cut, with dried blood staining its edges. No more than a scratch really. She tuts at it, her brow furrowing slightly, then taps him on the chin, inspection complete. You feel Bro looking at you, so you turn and look back at him. He nods a bit towards you, an eyebrow raising a few millimetres. You roll your shoulders, and nod at him. He needs to stop worrying about you, you can take care of yourself and the whole nausea thing has disappeared. You’re fine.

  


“Alright, so who’s side do you want to hear first.” Bro takes control of the room immediately.

  


“Ours appears to be shorter, so why don’t we start.” Control is effortlessly taken from him by the small girl in purple. You can tell that both of them are fighting for dominance, and that it’s a stalemate. Bro conceeds, uncrossing his arms.

  


“Alright then. Shoot.” Bro settles cross legged on the floor, and you flop beside him, looking up at the poised girl on the bed.

  


“Well, lets start off with introductions. My name is Roseanne Lalonde, and this is my brother David Lalonde.” Pumpkin opens his mouth (to protest?), but Rose glares him down.

  


“The name’s Dave. Dave Strider.”

  


“Bro.”

  


Rose looks at him. Bro looks back. “Is that your real name.” She knows it’s not.

  


“No.” The silent battle of wills rages on, until Rose glances away, giving in.

  


“...Very well.”

  


“Better than Katana Murderer.” Pumpk-Dave-wait thats your name this is confusing-the orange kid mutters.

  


“I’d like to suggest we distinguish you two before we start. We can’t have two Daves.” The purple gaze turns to you, and then her brother.

  


“How about Blondy for him.”

  


“Only if you’re Pumpkin.” He glares at you, and you smirk back.

  


“How about no. You-” She pokes Pumpkin in the chest “-are Lalonde. You-” She points at you -“are Strider. Now, serious business. I’m guessing ‘Bro’ here is some biological relation to Lalonde?”

  


“Elder brother.”

  


“And I already know that Strider is my biological elder brother.”

  


“Apparently.”

  


“I assume that the situation is the same? Original child taken at 12 months old, replaced with new one?”

  


“Yes.”

  


“In our case, this lead to our Mother becoming obsessed with the idea that Lalonde had somehow magiced her original baby, Strider, away. This lead to Lalonde being shunned and abused, and Mom having me as a ‘replacement’.”

  


“What happened to Lalonde’s wing?”

  


Silence, with Rose glancing at Pu-Lalonde and Lalonde avoiding the gazes of everyone else in the room. He hunches his shoulders, which unfortunatly makes the space where his left wing should be seem emptier.

  


“Chopped it off. Trying to fit in with the wingless humans, fat chance..” The mutter was hard to hear, but everyone heard it.

_**  
**_

_**tryingsohardsohardeveryonehatesmeanywaytryingtomakeitbettermakemomlikemelovemebeaproperfamilybemorelikeHIMstupidcantbelike himhurtsomuchsomuchbloodalloverthefloorscreaming rosecameandhelpedbut** _

_**  
**_

_**nowingnow noflyingnowstupidstupidstupid.** _

_**  
**_

It’s not like the structured words, the communication before, it’s a direct pouring of emotion and feeling and pain right into your head, as if it had just. Overflown from someone elses. You remember the night, a few months back, where you had been asleep, dreaming something you can’t remember now, and then out of nowhere jolted awake, screaming at the pain you could feel, a stripe of fire running down your back, but you weren’t hurt, you were OK, and Bro helped calm you down and make you see that you were OK, you weren’t hurting. You were fine.

  


But he wasn’t.

  


Bro hisses through his teeth, and you can tell he’s thinking, imagining, as his wings, before casually spread, snap tight against his back.

  


“What happened on your side.” The question from the figure curled around his knees is monotone.

  


“Well, panic mostly, at the start. Our parents were killed the same night, and there was a huge uproar. I ran off with D-Strider, changed my name, dyed my color away, and searched. I looked for years you know. All the realms. Arëting, Litenaní, Alternatia, Earth. All across Europe, Africa, even here, America, but never found you. Until I bought Strider along for the ride and. There you were.”

  


You’ve never heard that story before.

  


Wait a second.

  


Why would Bro dye his color? Speaking of color, what is up with Lalonde anyway?

  


“Why are you orange?” It just kinda spills out of your mouth. Everyone stares at you.

  


“...Why are you blonde?” Lalonde says it like the answer is obvious.

  


“Yeah, I know, it’s a stupid question,but. I’ve never seen an orange sprite before. I think I read about it though, what was it?”

  


“A orange what?”

  


“Sprite. Like the drink. Its what feathery assholes like you and Bro are called.”

  


“There's a drink called Sprite?” Bro seems bemused.

  


“That's beside the point. Why are you orange?”

  


“Does… color run in families?” Rose muses.

  


You all turn to Bro.His pokerface is back up, but you can see the tendons in his neck. He’s uncomfortable.

  


“Usually it’s hereditary, yes.” He’s using big words. He’s really uncomfortable.

  


“So are you orange too?”

  


“I was.”

  


You interject. “What does that mean? It’s not on the spectrum as far as I know.”

  


“No. It’s not.”

  


He’s using short sentences.

  


“What spectrum? Why are we off it?” Lalonde asks.

  


Bro looks at him, at his missing wing and still-hunched shoulders and the curious tilt to his head, and hesitates.“It’s... special. Only one family is orange.”

  


“Our family.”

  


“Yes.”

  


“Why only one? Other… colors?... have more than one family right? What am I missing, are we mutants, or outcasts, or what?”

  


“No, we’re not outcasts. The opposite. Orange feathers are. Prized. Dangerous.”

  


“Prized?” Lalonde can’t seem to comprehend the possibility that he might be anything but loathed.

  


“Yes. It’s a bit like… tyrian blood for a troll. Tornado control for an air spirit. Blue blood for a human.”

  


Your eyes widen. The fucking _Empress_ , )(IC herself, has tyrian blood.The Sultan of Breath and his Heir can make tornados. Bro is comparable to that? 

  


Rose looks at you, then at Lalonde, then at Bro, her eyes confused.

  


“Humans all have red blood.”

  


“Wait, what’s that saying, theres a thing about nobility and blue blood isn’t there? I’m...upper class?” Lalonde is staring at Bro in disbelief at Bro, and you glance at Bro as well, noticing his relaxing shoulders and blank face.

  


“You’re more than that. You’re heir to the Throne. Rightful ruler of the sprite lands.” A small smirk creeps across Bro’s face. “Congratulations.”

  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think?


	9. Orange

You blink. Several times.

 

You’re not even surprised at all these curveballs life gives you anymore.

 

Strider seems nonchalant, and you can’t tell where he’s looking because of those annoying shades. Sunglasses. Why did you say shades? Bro is a blank slate. You can’t read him at all, though some flicker at the back of your mind says he looks tense. Rose is staring at you with a little smile in her eyes.

 

“Alright. Why should we believe you? You could be making all of this up.” You don’t think they actually are, you know they’re telling the truth, but common sense makes you ask.

 

“Good question. To answer it: Two Daves, mirror images of each other. How often do you see that?” Bro seems amused that you doubt him.

 

“There are a pair of identical twins in my form. I see mirror images every day I go to school.”

 

“Us appearing out of nothing.”

 

“An Illusion.”

 

“To what purpose?”

 

“Deceit.”

 

“Same question.”

 

You shrug. “Probably money. It always boils down to money.”

 

The corner of his lip rises a few millimetres.“We’re the royal family dude. We’re rolling in money. Wings.”

 

“Clever fakes. I saw him-” You gesture to Strider “-take off a pair.”

 

“I flew you here. Fakes can’t do that. How about... Family resemblance.”

 

“Loads of people look like each other. Fact: there are 7 people in the world that look exactly like you. That explains Strider here as well.”

 

“Even if we accept the fact you are a ‘sprite’ from a different world, who says you and Lalonde are related?” Rose cuts in.

 

“You could have dyed your hair and wings white from any color. Who says you’re not naturally bright blue?”

 

“If you are not lying and orange is prized, what stops you from demanding a ransom? D-Lalonde must be valuable where you come from.”

 

He’s smirking again. “Good. Very good. You should always be questioning, be on your guard. And as for your question-” He reaches up to his face, and takes off the pointy triangle shades. His eyes are the same color as yours, bright orange. “- How do I fake these?”

**_oh my god hes taken off his shades_ **

****

**_his eyes are orange_ **

 

**_biggest mystery of my life_ **

 

**_and the answer is orange_ **

****

**_huh_ **

****

_Shut up!_

 

“Contacts.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“These little lens things you put in your eyes. They can change the color. You might be wearing them.”

 

His eyebrows raise. “Those exist?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Damn.”  His shades reappear on his face, and a fluid shrug ripples down his shoulders. “Well, you’ll just have to trust us then. Don’t do that often: Horrible mistake, it’ll get you killed if you trust too many people.”

 

An exasperated breath escapes you.

 

“I have a question: Where exactly do you come from?” Rose takes the lead.

 

“Junction.”

 

“Which is where exactly?”

 

“Tiny sub-realm floating off Arëting. Made into a city due to lots of portal energy avalible there.”

 

“Arëting?”

 

“Used to be the Sprite Kingdom, until )(IC came along, disposed of the whole royal family, i.e.us, and dumped her ass on the throne.”

 

“)(IC?” Rose somehow gets the pronunciation right first try.

 

“)(er Imperious Condescension. She Who Drinks the Blood of Nations. The Tyrian Tyrant is a particularly catchy one. The Troll empress, and a reel, ahem, real, pain in the ass.”

 

“She is responsible for the… switch?”

 

“Most likely.”

 

Roses eyes narrow. “I would quite like to meet this… Empress.”

 

“No, you would not. She’s… tricky.”

 

**_hey dude_ **

 

You are distracted from Bro and Rose’s conversation by the words in the back of your head that don’t know how to shut up.

**_dude i know you can hear me youre scowling a bit_ **

****

**_I already told you to shut up._ **

****

**_cmon did you really think i would_ **

****

**_besides we need to have a talk_ **

_I am not talking to a figment of my own imagination._

****

**_you still havent worked it out have you_ **

 

_Worked what out, subconscious?_

**_im not your subconcious_ **

****

**_im dave_ **

****

**_wait thats you as well_ **

****

**_like dave strider im sitting on the floor rn sending you telepathic shit_ **

_What._

 

Despite yourself, you stare blankly at Strider, who you cannot be communicating with telepathically. He smirks at you, then makes a quick gesture between your two heads, before putting his fingers on his temples.

 

_**see** _

__

_**were just so cool we can like** _

__

_**send each other our mental bullshit** _

__

_**i bet weve been doing it for years** _

 

_Why the sudden development in it though? Before I’ve only got vauge sensations, emotions and stuff._

**_yeah same_ **

****

**_i guess_ **

****

**_we met?_ **

_And that caused a development in the link? Interesting. Wait. No. This is impossible._

**_nope were doing it it cant be impossible_ **

_No, there isn’t any technology available that can-_

****

**_who even cares_ **

****

**_look_ **

****

**_somehow this is happening_ **

****

**_idk how_ **

****

**_but it is_ **

****

**_there you go_ **

****

**_wait shit bro and rose are staring at us_ **

_Why do they look so similar with the_

****

**_single raised eyebrow yeah weird right_ **

 

“Lalonde? Dave? Hello, is anyone home?”

 

“Yes, sorry, preoccupied. What?”

 

“I feel like I am missing out on something. Is there anything you wish to inform me of, brother?”

 

“Why no, sister, I believe that you are on top of everything occurring in this room. Nothing untoward is happening, or else you should surely know.”

 

“Really.”

 

“Why would that not be the case?”

 

“You and Strider have been staring into each others eyes for about five minutes. I’m beginning to suspect a love affair. You are such a cheapskate, I thought that you wouldn’t fall for someone that you just met as soon as they flutter their eyelashes at you.”

 

“Also, twincest? Kinky much.” Bro interjects.

 

“Ewww Bro. Ewww. Nope. Nothing like that. Just a telepathic conversation, no biggie.” Strider does an idiotic head toss to flick his blonde hair out of his eyes. Rose and Bro are stare at him, and then at you, and then back at him. They’re kinda creepy the way they mirror each other.

 

“What.” Rose demands an explanation.

 

“He just started talking to me inside my head!  I don’t know how it works, ask this dumbass.”

_Idiot, why did you tell them?_

 

_**not like we could keep it secret chill bro** _

__

_**why would you even want to keep it secret** _

__

“How is that even possible? Is that even possible?” Rose seems exasperated.

 

“I’ve never heard of it.” Bro is as unreadable as ever but something in the back of your mind says he’s just as shocked as Rose.

 

_**huh not much suprises him** _

_What’s he like? Normally?_

 

**_you summed it up p well with katana murderer_ **

****

**_except he doesnt actually murder people_ **

****

**_whats rose like_ **

 

_Sarcastic. Witty. Shrewd._

_I could go on for ages about-_

 

Rose snaps her fingers in your face, and you jerk backward.

 

“Stop thinking stuff at Strider. We’re trying to have a conversation here.”

 

You grimace. “Sorry.”

 

“OK, theres obviously some link between the two of you. All we need to do is determine-”

 

“Shhh.” Bro interupts, his finger held up and his head tilted.

 

“What is it?”

 

“I heard something.”

 

The room is dead silent, and all you listen, straining your ears.

 

It’s quiet.

 

Too quiet. No zzznorking, no smashing bottles or drunken shouting.

 

Shit.

 

_Theres someone else here._

 

 


	10. Red

You’re instantly on alert, slipping into a low crouch and reaching back to where you left-shit, Bro took your coat when the travel made you faint, your sword is still out in the clearing.

 

_any idea who it might be_

**_No, no-one visits us. We’re the weird family who lives in the woods, why would anyone want to visit us?_ **

Bro is creeping towards the door: he motions at you to stay with the others, and points at the window.

 

Is he serious.

 

He jerks his head to the window, with that warning tilt of his head that means don’t ask, just do what I say, and reaches out, the silver whistle thats your ticket out of here dropping into your hand. You slip it into your back pocket.

 

You start for the window, pushing at the glass to open it.

 

**_Are you guys crazy? The window?_ **

_just do it_

_bros spooked_

_he doesnt get spooked you dont understand_

**_...Alright._ **

 

Lalonde walks across the room, and leans out the now-open window, grabbing onto a drain and swinging out into the open air. Orange eyes glint up at you for a second, then he starts to make his way down.

 

“What is going on?” Rose asks, shouldering past you to lean out the window.

 

You try to do your mental mind thing

 

**_Telepathy._ **

 

right, yeah, that, with her, but you don’t get anything.

 

Instead you speak. “We’re getting out of here. Somethings not right, and I’m not sticking around to find out what. C’mon.”

 

You shoulder back past her, and grab onto the same drain Lalonde is halfway down. Wait. Don’t look at Lalonde, that way is down. Bro isn’t going to catch you this time, he’s posed by the door, katana out and ready, and he gives you a smirk-and-nod combo as you swing out the window.

 

It’s kinda high. And cold. You make your way down somehow, slipping a few times, but eventually feeling the ground beneath your feet. Lal-that name doesn’t seem right youll call him Other Dave, Other Dave is there, staring through a small window. You take a glance.

 

Shit. Trolls, bluebloods by the look of them. Sharp horns, sharper teeth. They have the Imperial Seal, a tyrian trident, on their arm. Literally, branded into their flesh. S)(e doesn’t fuck around.

 

Rose settles beside the two of you, but you’re not here to wait around. You grab their arms, and retreat, slowly, quietly, back to the woods.

 

_imperials_

 

_see the trident_

 

**_Branded with )(er symbol, yeah I saw._ **

 

_theyll have us surrounded_

 

_but we can get out_

 

_bro gave me the whistle_

**_Dog-ears will teleport us out?_ **

****

**_Wait. How do I know that?_ **

_more important things to worry about pumpkin spice latte_

__

_**Yeah. Should we wait for Bro?** _

__

_**And also don’t ever call me that again.** _

 

_i dunno_

_he gave us the whistle_

_wait lil sis (heh) is glaring at us_

 

“Care to share?” Rose hisses, glancing around “Why are there aliens in our kitchen, are those aliens friendly, and how are we going to get out of this one?”

 

“Dunno, fuck no, and space-dog-girl teleportation.” Goddamit you and Pumpkin did the chorus thing again.You can tell that is going to get seriously frustrating.

 

She blinks. “Space-dog-girl teleportation.”

 

“How do you think me and Bro got here? Walking?” You hiss, eyes darting around for any sign of the trolls you know are sweeping the woods.

 

“We need to get out of here. Dave, blow the whistle, we need-was her name Jade? here so we can go as soon as Bro appears. Rose, we need to be as quiet as possible, these trolls are professional and they are sweeping the woods.” You can hear the slight tremble to Pumpkins voice.

 

You get the silver whistle out of your pocket. It has a strange swirly symbol on one end, but the other seems normal, and you put it to your mouth and blow as hard as you can, ready to move when the sound comes out and the trolls zero in on your location.

 

It doesn’t make a sound.

 

shit she gave you a dodgy whistle yourgoingtodieherefuckfuckfuck

 

“Shut up and give me that.” Pumpkin snatches the whistle out of your hands, and blows. Still nothing.

 

“See? It doesn’t work, thats our only way out of here, those trolls are going to find us and then kill us, fuck fuck fuck what do we do?”

 

Rose rudely interrupts your vomit of words with a simple question. “Have you idiots never heard of a dog whistle?”

 

You’re pretty sure you’ve never heard of a dog whistle. But you know what it is. So.

 

When you’re safe you are going to find out what is up with your brain and knowing things. But you’re not safe yet, so the topic is put on pause, tyvm.

 

The space-dog-girl zaps into existence next to you. You only screech a little bit, shut up Bro.

 

Wait. Bro.

 

“Why are we hiding in a bush? Who are- Is that girl human?” Jane? Joaquin? Jade? Jade almost snarls at you. Her teeth are pretty deadly. Not troll-deadly, but still I-could-eat-you deadly.

 

“Uhhhh.” You are feeling particularly eloquent today.

 

“Are you a fucking idiot?”

 

“Ummmm...”

 

“We won’t tell on you, pinky swear, nowpleasegetusoutofhere.” Pumpkin is glancing around,

nervous.

 

“Why are you in such a hurry? Wait. You’re…” Her eyes flicker to Pumpkins wings, then she grabs his chin and pulls his face close to hers, staring into his eyes.  “...OK, those aren’t contacts, we need to get out of here.”

 

“Wait, uh, what about-”

 

Before you can get the rest of your sentence out of your mouth, she grabs your arm, and Rose grabs her shoulder.

 

And then the world warps and you’re all somewhere else entirely.

 

Without Bro.

 

 


	11. Orange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I just realised I haven't updated in a month. Sorry guys!

Nnnngggg. Don’t throw up, don’t throw up.

  


You make a (frankly heroic) effort not to spatter the contents of your gut all over the floor, and just about manage.

  


Where the fuck are you?

  


You manage to raise your head enough to see the others. Jade is staring at your eyes still, a vaguely irritated expression on her face. Rose looks green, but is holding it together better than Blondy, who grabs Jade by the arm.

  


“We have to go back.”

  


She shakes him off, growling in his face. “We can’t. They’ll set up anti-teleport wards, it’s a wonder we got out before we couldn’t get out. Eve  if they were down, it’s too risky. We have to go on the run now. I haven’t even packed anything from home. You bastards.”

  


“But my bro-”

  


“No buts, fuckass.”

  


He’s panicking, you can hear the racing words of his thoughts spewing across your link.

  


**_nononofucknonononobrowhynononooutsidenonononotscaredNOTSCAREDnonono_ **

****__  
  


_Dude, calm down._

  


He wheels to look at you, breathing in short sharp bursts. Is he hyperventilating? The babble in his head (and yours) keeps getting louder, mostly ‘nononono’ and ‘bro’ and ‘notscarednotscarednotscared’ repeated over and over again. A frown has somehow plastered itself on your face for this guy you met today, and you know that it’s a bad idea when Rose, a similar frown on her face, reaches out and grabs his arm to get his attention. He jerks his arm back away from her, but she lets go and he accidently whacks himself in the face, knocking those stupid shades off, and the noise in your head just becomes wordless PANIC and you’re shouting back at him now, both in your head and with your mouth, and he winces at the noise and faces you again and you just get a quick glimpse of red before you trip something in your head and he slumps to the ground, unconscious.

  


What the fuck was that.

  


Rose whips her head round to stare at you, her eyes uncannily similar to Blondys, but purple. And surprised.

  


“What did you just do?”

  


“I dunno, I just… and then he just...” You wave your arms about, trying to express through gesture the thing you had done with your mind to make Dave fall asleep. “He was panicking, he was working himself up so much and I just... made him stop doing that. With our mind thing. I dunno, I just made go asleep for a bit so he would stop shouting his panic at me”

  


“What mind thing is this? And how did you get away on the Night of Blood? No-one survived. Is that where you lost the wing? And who are the rest of these people? Why were you on Earth?” Jade rattles off the questions in your directions, hands on her hips and ears back threateningly.

  


“Ummm. This is Rose? My sister? And the unconscious one is Bl-Strider. You teleported him to Earth?”

  


“You don’t have a sister, you’re a sprite royal aren’t you? And a seraphim by your wings, so you must be the youngest royal, David. Everyone thought you died. You’re the rightful heir, so it’s no wonder the Condense is so interested in you. Why were you on Earth?”

  


“I live there?”

  


Rose steps in. “Lal- _David_ ,” (pointed glance at you)“was given to a human family, mine, when he was very young. He grew up with us on Earth with no knowledge of any other world. Where are we now?”

  


“We’re in the Zephyr Deserts, a remote part of Litenaní. I put us down far away from all the cities, so we’re alone. You’re a human, aren’t you?”

  


“Yes, I am.”

  


“How many of your kind know about the existence of other worlds?”

  


“Just me, that I know of. Strider’s brother told us about them when he came to Earth looking for David.”

  


“Wait. You mean Bro, don’t you? Is that what he was doing, all those times he wanted to go to Earth? Stupid sprites and their stupid secrecy.”

  


“I don’t know, he got left behind. I guess that was what Strider was freaking out about.”

  


“Not just that. Other stuff too. But I don’t really know, I just got a vague impression of panic from him.” You do know, but thats… too personal.

  


“How did you even get that? Wait, are you two soulkin?”

  


“What’s soulkin.”

  


“You don’t know anything, do you.”

  


“I was raised by humans alright, I can tell you all about mitochondria.”

  


She rolls her eyes.

  


“Soulkin are … well, two people who share a soul. They look the same as each other, they feel when the other is hurt, they can talk inside the others head. They’re very rare, even in the same race. Soulkin from different races are unheard of. The science behind it is fascinating.”

  


“Souls are things that exist?”

  


“Yep!”

  


“This has been an interesting discussion, but Strider is drooling on my foot.” A glance downward shows that Blondy is indeed drooling on Roses foot.

  


“I can’t wake him up, he’ll freak again.”

  


There’s a lull in the conversation. You sigh and sit down on the sandy rock.Rose shifts her foot, and Blondys head thumps to the floor. He sleeps on. You wouldn’t want to be him when he wakes up.

  


The … was it Zephyr?  The Zephyr Deserts are covered in sand, dunes stretching as far as the eye can see. You are perched on top of a hulk of rock that protrudes out of the dust, about the size of the bus that runs through town. Wind skims the voids keeping the monolithic tors apart. The sand that has been blown to the top of the rock shifts, the sudden breeze swooping it about in swirling patterns.

  


Your feathers rustle in the wind, and you put your wind up to shield your face, your eyes fixing onto a clear area that shifts, moving as the sand swirls around it.

  


“Hello.” You somehow _know_  there’s a person hiding in that clear bit of air. “What’s your name?”

  


The sand suddenly settles back down again, coating the top of the rock, and a boy appears out of thin air. He’s dressed in a bright blue headscarf, one of it's tails fluttering behind him in the breeze, the other wrapped around his face, obscuring everything but a pair of, who guessed it, bright blue eyes, and a necklace with blue (gasp) and gold beads thumps against his chest. Baggy white trousers settle low on his hips, and his feet are bare, floating a few inches above the surface of the rock.

  


He shoves the light cloth (its gossamer and floaty) away from his face, revealing buckteeth prominent in a stunningly white smile.

  


“I'm John. Who are you?”

  



	12. Red

Your head hurts.

 

There seems to be a drummer pounding on the inside of your cranium, one of those rock bands smashing out his solo behind your eyelids, that poor dude that no one will remember taking his one chance to shine on the big stage of The Inside of Daves Head, drumming his heart out, he has no idea that none of the crowd is listening to him, they’re just waiting for the main singer to step up to the mike agai-

 

**_Jeez, you couldn’t’ve just thought ‘I have a headache’?_ **

_nah_

_not my style_

 

You open your eyes to see- holy shit nope too bright nope closing them again.

 

That bright means you lost your shades somehow, and you grope around your head for them. Pumpkin puts them in your hand, and you poke yourself in the eye with them before slipping them on your face. The headache numbs a little.

 

You’re lying on a hard surface, kinda like rock, yeah you’re just gonna go with calling it rock so far. You are trying not to think about how you got to be unconscious on a piece of rock.

 

“Are you sure this is a good idea? Maybe you should knock him out again.”

 

Stupid sister. You don't want to be lying unconscious on a piece of rock with a bunch of strangers. And you were trying not to think about the reason you're lying on a piece of rock with a bunch of strangers.

_dude you can knock me out thats not fair i want to be able to knock you out as well_

**_Are you going to freak again?_ **

****

_pft i wasnt freaking i never freak im the master of cool_

**_Dude._ **

****

**_You were freaking really bad._ **

****

_i wasnt freaking ok and im fine now anyway so shut up_

 

“He says he’s fine.”

 

“Can he speak?”

 

“Duh.” Your voice is croaky and horse. You open your eyes again, and the brightness has been dimmed by your shades to a level between the ‘burn your eyes out’ and ‘only non-permanent eye damage here’ levels. You shut them again, and sit up.

 

Your head bonks into someone else’s on the way up, and you both say “Ow!” in the same voice. 

  
  


“Hey, watch it, I already have some of your headache bleeding through, I don’t need one of my own!”

 

“Could’ve warned me you were there, asshole.” Glares are exchanged. Eyes properly shielded, you glance around. Bro is not here. You carefully ignore that fact, and focus on who is here. Dog-space-girl ( _ **Her name is Jade.** shut up i knew that_ ) stands on the end of the your-room sized hunk of smooth stone you’re on top of. Some random dude hovers a few meters beyond her. Rose kneels delicately on one side of you, and Pumpkin sits cross legged on the other, rubbing his forehead and scowling halfheartedly at you. “Who’s the new kid?”

 

“His names John. He just appeared out of thin air, literally, and started being awfully cheery. Jades quizzing him. We decided to wake you up so that you could help cause you’re the only person who grew up in this world.”

 

“Technically I didn’t grow up in this Realm, this is not Junction by any streach of the imagination.” Pumpkin scowls at you for that, and you shrug. It’s true.

 

“Nevertheless, you have the most information, which means that you should go chat to our dear friend John over there, and convince him not to say anything about us being here.”

 

“Are we secret agents now?”

 

“Dude, HIC wants to kill me for some reason, and Jade says that humans can’t be seen or you guys will be killed as well.”

 

“Not HIC. )(IC.”

 

“How do you even pronounce that?”

 

“Like )(IC, come on dude. It’s not that hard. Anyway, I’ll see if I can scope out this air spirit for you guys. You owe me a favor though. I can call it in at any time.”

 

“Agreed.”

 

“Alright.”

 

“K then, lets get this party started.” Your headache seems to have abated ( _abated? **Decreased in intensity.** oh cool_ ) a little, leaving you free to push yourself off the rock and walk over to to where the black haired people are hanging.

 

“Yo so uhh Rose told me to tell you not to say anything about us like being... here. So... do that?” They stare at you a bit. Jade blinks at you a bit, and looks at you as if you are stupid. The new guy ( _whats his name **John idiot.** shut up im not an idiot youre an idiot_  ) turns his head and nearly blinds you with his teeth. God, too white. The contrast with the dark skin of his face just makes them brighter.

 

“It’s OK! I wouldn’t know who to tell, you guys are the first people I can remember meeting outside the guards anyway. But my mouth will remain shut! Is that actually the heir to the Arëting Throne? How is he alive? We have so much to talk about, wow.”

 

“I want to know that stuff too! These people are really secretive, they won’t tell me anything.”

 

“Well uh-, you guys haven’t really told us anything about you either.” You idely wonder when ‘us’ changed from just you and Bro to include Rose and Pumpkin.

**_I do have a name, you know._ **

_yeah but its weird its the same as my name_

**_We’ve hashed this out already. Get convincing them to not snitch._ **

_you dont tell me what to do_

**_Do you want to go asleep again?_ **

_…_

_fucker i need to know how to do that to you teach me_

**_Dude you’re kinda in the middle of a conversation._ **

_oh yeah_

You tune back into the conversation in front of you.

 

“-so yeah, thats my story! How about you Jade?”

 

Shit you missed important things. Ah well, the guy is probs just some random air spirit. Jade however…

 

Jade mutters something that sounds a lot like two somethings in one day, then shakes her head. “My name’s Jade Harley! I was born a human, but raised in Junction by my grandpa. When we were adventuring in one of the random portals that spawn around the city because of all the energy there, I fell through and ended up in a place full of green fire and plasma and power, and came out with new powers and dog ears. The portal was unstable, and collapsed, and I have no idea where the green place is. I sell transportation, teleporting is REALLY useful! This dude and his brother bought a teleport to Earth and back, but when I went to collect them there was him, the lost prince and that human. With the Condense on their heels. So I brought them here, Blondy fainted, and you turned up!” She turns, one finger prodding at your ribs. “Now, your turn.”

 

“Uhhh.”

_dude help_

****

**_Urgh, fine, we’ll come over._ **

 

Pumpkin ambles ( _whats amble_ _**What I’m doing idiot. And stop calling me bloody Pumpkin!** nah it’s funny)_ over. “Sooo, I hear we’re telling stories.”

 

“Yes, actually. I am really interested to hear yours, buster.” Jade narrows her eyes at Pumpkin.

 

“I grew up on Earth with Dave’s family until he and his bro turned up and told me I’m some lost prince. Rose is Dave’s biological sister. Dave grew up in Junction with my biological big brother.”

 

“How’d ya loose the wing?”

 

He hesitates. “...Long story.”

 

“Wait. You guys are soulkin, right?”

_whats soulkin_

**_Like us, twins with telepathy._ **

 

**_Apparently._ **

****

“Yeah.”

 

“And you both have the same name?”

 

“Yeah.” You and Pumpkin( _ **Shut up Blondy.** love you too_ ) do the twin-chorus thing on purpose this time.

 

“Thats... confusing.”

 

“Nah. So what’s up with John, is he going to snitch?”

 

“No, hes coming too.”

 

“...Coming where exactly?”

 

“To fight )(IC, silly! Now we know you’re alive, what are we waiting for!”

 

“Ummm, No.” Pumpkin crosses his arms. “I just want to get back home, shove Blondy” ( _y do u hurt me this way)_ “at his Mom, then sleep for like a week. No revolutions against established governmental systems for me, thanks.”

 

“I think it sounds fun. Stick it to the man, and all that.” you interject. “...Except this time ‘the man’ is a super OP fish alien. I’m totally up for the whole properly meeting Mom though.” Rose nods at your statement. You hadn’t even noticed her walking over.

 

“It has the added benefit of getting Orange Dave back into an elevated societal position.” Rose notes. Jade nods, her hair bouncing with the force of the movement, and looks at Pumpkin with literal puppydog eyes.

 

“No.” His arms are still crossed, and with a peek into his mind you know he’s entered that stubborn phase where he’s not even really against it anymore, and just refusing because giving in would be losing.

****

**_Hey!_ **

****

_deny it_

**_…_ **

****

**_You’re annoying._ **

_  
haha i win _

Jade huffs, rolling her eyes. “Well you can’t go home at the moment because it’ll be swarming with Imperials, and we can’t go to mine or Blondy’s because same thing, so… I guess we’re staying here for the night. Bags not first watch!”

 

“Blondy can be first watch, he’s gotten some sleep already.”

_dude_

**_What?_ **

****

“Dude. We’re like soulmates or something, you’re meant not to betray me like that.” You pull a pouty face. Pumpkin pulls a face.

 

“Eww.”

 

“What, you opposed to being my one true love? Not a problem, you’ll come round eventually, I’ll give you a dozen red roses and you’ll fall into my arms, swooning at my graciousness. Our first date will be a candlelit dinner and we’ll make out in the starlight like the most cliche fuckers ever, and you will be my sweet pumpkin pie and-” His hand has teleported onto your mouth, and you make eyebrows at him over your shades.

 

“Nope. No. Noperino, I am noping out of this one so far I’ve left the Earth and blasted into orbit- Wait a moment. Where is this place relative to Earth? Are we like in outer space, or a different dimension, or underground caverns, or what?” You lick his hand, and he yelps, pulling it away and wiping it frantically on his shirt.

 

Jades the one who answers. She’s somehow managed to curl up on the rock, head on the lab coat she was wearing. “We’re in a different Realm.”

 

“...Alright, I knew I wasn’t going to get a straight answer, I don’t even care anymore. Just let me sleep.”

 

You realise you haven’t managed to wiggle out of first watch (what are you even watching for) and everyone else is trying to get comfy on the rock for sleepytimes. Bastards.

 

“Wake me up after a few hours, brother dearest. I’ll be happy to relieve you of the burden of staying awake and alert.” There’s something teasing in Rose’s tone, and you are instantly suspicious, but can’t quite put your finger on why.

 

“... Fuck all of you.” You settle down near the edge of the rock, reluctantly committed to your fate. The others lay on the rock behind you, and Jade and John’s snores echo into the sunset after a few minutes. Roses breathing slows, and after a few minutes she starts dreaming, shifting in her place where she’s curled like a cat, and making small nonsense murmers. You feel Pumpkins thoughts slowing down, him drifting away to sleep, and it’s really quite nice to have some time just on your own, looking at the way the sun paints the sky in oranges and soft purples as evening fades into night.

 

Bro isn’t here. You’re further than home than you’ve ever been before, with a whole host of strangers and Pumpkin. Your Mom’s an alcoholic, your Bro’s probably been captured, and you’re in the middle of nowhere on top of a fucking huge lump of rock.

 

You’re actually doing something for once.

 

You feel _great_ , and a broad grin settles onto your face now there's no one watching.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to know anything more about this thing, my tumblr is ajkal2, so feel free to ask stuff.


End file.
